Smallest record shop in the world to open in north London for Record Store Day

Record label Ample Play will open the pop-up in Stoke Newington for April 18

The smallest record shop in the world is set to open for this year’s Record Store Day.

The pop-up venue will open for the event on April 18 for one day and will be run by the record label, Ample Play, which is the project of Tjinder Singh and Ben Ayres of the band Cornershop. The store will be situated at 256 Albion Road, N16 9JP, and open from 11am-5pm.

The organisers behind Record Store Day recently issued a statement in response to criticism from a number of small labels. Independent labels Sonic Cathedral and Howling Owl had announced details of a new split release, one copy of which will be released every day for the next year as a sort-of boycott to Record Store Day. In their press release, the labels listed their motive as trying to illustrate “how every day should be record store day” and that the current Record Store Day “rules and regulations” mean that it’s “not beneficial to small, backs to the wall labels”.

Entertainment Retailers Association, the company behind Record Store Day, have now released a statement to The Vinyl Factory. The statement begins: “Music arouses passions. The music business arouses passions. And when you’re dealing with something as emotive as music, that’s how it should be. But it does mean that almost any initiative you take in the music business, however benign, will find its detractors.”

It continues: “To make it clear, the purpose of Record Store Day is not to promote independent labels. It is to promote independent record shops (the clue is in the name). Of course, because indie record shops disproportionately support independent labels, indie labels are among the biggest winners from RSD. While media coverage inevitably focuses on superstar acts often signed to major labels, in fact three out of four RSD releases are on indie labels. That’s hardly a ‘betrayal’ of indies.”

The letter ends with the organiser asking music fans and labels alike to “give us a break”. Read the full statement here.

Record Store Day, which celebrates the culture of independent record shops, takes place in 2015 on April 18. Mumford and Sons and Foo Fighters are among the artists who will release exclusive material this year.
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